He shared that after two weeks of working with Gervais, now 63, he developed a “stress rash” and felt like his hair “was coming out”.
“But people who knew me did not like the way that relationship worked. I am not saying it is a traumatic experience, but after two weeks I came out in red lumps that my doctor said were a stress rash. I think my hair is coming out in clumps,” he claimed.
He alleged Gervais’ behaviour toward him became so bad his co-star in The Office Mackenzie Crook, stepped in and confronted him about it.
News.com.au has approached Gervais’ representative for comment.
Ince, 55, announced his retirement in 2015, stepping away from comedy to focus on his personal life. At the time, he claimed he was “starting to go mad” and had regrets about not being with his family more often.
Ince and Gervais appeared to remain friendly until 2022, when the comedian wrote a blog post slamming Gervais for making jokes about transgender people.
“It is easy to forget the collateral damage of jokes,” Ince wrote at the time. “Anti-trans punchlines seem to have become highly profitable and it ignores the dehumanising effect on a swathe of already marginalised people. I think Ricky believes it is just him being a ‘naughty boy’.
“I believe it makes him a pin-up and role model for the alt-right,” added Ince.
Gervais faced backlash last year after he made a joke about terminally ill children on his Netflix stand-up special Armageddon.
In April 2023, Gervais weighed in on the controversial hunting competition in Canterbury, New Zealand, that encouraged children younger than 14 to shoot as many feral cats as possible.
Reacting to the BBC’s coverage of the hunting competition, Gervais poked fun at the concept, writing on X (then known as Twitter): “Right. We need some new PR ideas to make the world love New Zealand. Maybe something involving kids & kittens. Yes, Hargreaves.”
- Additional reporting by NZ Herald.
